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A REVIEW + GIVEAWAY OF GARDEN TOOLS

I love garden tools. I can't get enough of them, really. Every tool has subtle differences and I live playing around with them to see what works best for me.

Troy-Bilt came out with a line of garden tools this year and I put them to the test. I noticed two things right off the bat: They felt light, but not cheap or lacking in sturdiness. I appreciate tools that have been designed to be light, so long as it doesn't sacrifice durability and while I can't say I've used these long enough to really test their durability, I didn't notice anything that made me think they'd be breaking any time soon.

Here's the other thing I'm liking about these tools: the pricepoint. I've written a lot about my favorite tools in the past and I'm not opposed to spending a lot of money on a great tool. For that reason, I'm sometimes reluctant to take my favorite tools outside of my yard. When I garden at one of our master gardener projects I practically bring a dog along to guard my stuff because when you have a dozen people working on one garden at the same time, stuff gets mixed up. These tools are good enough quality to do everything I need them to do but not so precious that I'd cry in my cocktail if I forgot one out in the rain.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you these are the most amazing trowels the world has ever seen. They are nice, sturdy tools that feel good in your hand and serve their purpose admirably. I'm not sure I need anything else from a trowel. I like 'em and so did the other gardeners who used them at the public garden (I told you you have to guard your tools!).

I've never used a mini garden rake before and I can't imagine why. What a handy little tool this is! I used it for all kinds of things but my absolute favorite was for forking weeds out my gravel paths. It worked perfectly and it was so much easier than pinching them out with my fingers. Love it. I'd happily buy this at three times the price.

I'm going to preface my comments on the pruner and the lopper by pointing out that they were both anvil style, which is not my preference. A dull anvil blade can crush a tender stem, doing damage to a plant. Troy-Bilt also offers these tools in bypass styles.

I tell you what, after trying these, I can see why I need both anvil and bypass pruners in my kit. I sought out some woody, old stems and cut them with both the Comfort Classic Anvil Pruner and my favorite bypass pruner. The anvil pruner worked better. Beyond that, I was impressed with how comfortable the Troy-Bilt pruner was to hold. I have small hands and find a lot of pruners to be uncomfortable, but that wasn't the case here. It also has a rust-resistant coating and I purposely left it out in the rain overnight. Whereas other tools I have would have not been happy with that treatment, even in the short term, the Troy-Bilt pruner was no worse for the wear.

Newfoundland shown for scale only; he is not included in the giveaway nor did he test any garden tools.

The anvil lopper is huge. This thing will be able to go after some serious pruning tasks and because it opens so wide, you'll be able to fit it in some odd spaces. Wanna know just how wide it spreads? Good thing I had a Newfoundland handy for scale.

So now it's your turn to try these babies out. One lucky winner will receive a set of Troy-Bilt tools like I tested. Just use the widget below to enter. Entries close at midnight Thursday, Sept. 3.

A lot of gardening, a bit of DIY, with a handful of real life thrown in. That's what The Impatient Gardener is all about. I'm Erin and this is where you'll read about my gardening and home improvement successes, failures and everything in between in southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5b.